The Bounty
by The Inner Turmoil
Summary: Ruby and Yang are bounty hunters in an old style world. Where dust had just been discovered a hundred years ago, and the Grimm were nothing more than legends. Ruby and Yang travel as Bounty Hunters, having made their way to Vale, where a surprising collection of Bounty Hunters at the Beacon Bounty Center may have the information they need to settle an old vendetta.
1. Welcome to Vale

**This is my second fanfiction. While I continue working on my other, not so popular at the moment story "Kindled Remnant", I figured I'd write this piece. Of course, it's an Alternate Universe to express more creativity. I based this piece in** **an "Oddworld Strangers Wrath" Kind of world. I loved that game to death, mainly because of the great story and universe it presented. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy, and please leave reviews! Whether they be nothing but praise, or criticisms, I'd love hear your thoughts so that I may grow as a writer. **

RWBY The Bounty

Part 1: Welcome to Vale

There were quite a number of ways one could travel through the desert. Either by horseback, camel, or even by train if they could find one. How they always wound up walking confused the red-haired girl. They weren't short on money, though, not exactly rich. Ruby Rose, a 15-year-old girl with dark red hair and silver eyes, traveled from town to town. Wherever her and her sister yang ended up, they'd check the local bounty stores and round-up any criminals that were worth enough. Normally, their targets would just scoff and laugh at the thought of them being bounty hunters. After all, they were just young teenage girls, taking on older men and women twice their age and size. That was their mistake, however. The criminals who underestimated them soon found themselves behind bars, watching as their bounty was paid to the girls.

Bounty Hunting soon became quite a competitive career. With Ruby and Yang gathering so many bounties, it wasn't long before other hunters began putting bounties on their heads as well. They didn't have the highest bounties, but it was enough to catch the attention of other hunters. Thinking it was easy money, the two girls had been attacked numerous times, and would always fight off the attacker. Yang now only held a $20,000 bounty, while Ruby held only half of that. Ruby blamed it on her age, size, and the fact that Yang could pick a fight with just about anybody. If anyone so much as touched her hair, she went postal and demolished them. A fate their latest attacker had been unfortunate enough to suffer.

Ruby chuckled, remembering the last poor criminal to underestimate them. He was probably three times bigger than Ruby and just laughed at them. Poor fool found his way in a rundown jail cell covered in cuts and bruises. He even suffered from a broken arm.

Ruby put her hand over her eyes, staring out into the sky. The sun was really beating down on them, and it was starting to take it's toll. Ruby's outfit only consisted of a red cloak, wrapped completely around her, a black sleeveless shirt, and red pants. One of the primary reasons she hated walking through the desert. She loved her outfit, yet it didn't exactly keep her comfortable in the heat. "Yaaang! I'm hooot!" Ruby whined.

Her sister just chuckled, looking over her shoulder as they continued walking. "Relax Ruby. The next town shouldn't be too much farther." Yang assured her. Ruby just pouted. Relax. Easy for _her_ to say. Yang had an unbelievable tolerance to heat. Her outfit even made it that much easier to tolerate the heat. All it consisted of was a black pair of short combat shorts, thin yellow shirt, a brown jacket, and an orange scarf. Yang seemed to actually _enjoy_ the heat.

Ruby, however, had enough. She stopped walking and fell to the ground on her butt. She crossed her arms and continued pouting. The sudden motion caused Yang to stop and look at her, and she crossed her arms. "Ruby, come on. We can't stay out here forever." she told her.

"I know that, but I'm hot!" The younger girl pouted, crossing her arms and turning her head. "And I'm not moving until you find us another way out of the desert."

Yang chuckled and scratched the back of her head. What was she going to do with her? She may only be 15, but sometimes the her younger sister acted like such a little kid. It was almost hard for even _her _to believe that she had a bounty on her head. Yang turned around and walked away, confusing Ruby. She wasn't planning on leaving her there, was she? As Yang walked through the sand, she found herself on top of a sandy hill, smiling. She looked back at Ruby.

"Tell you what Ruby. If you can beat me to the next town, I'll buy you a _whole_ plate of cookies-".

Before Yang could even finish her sentence, Ruby had darted from her position, running full speed ahead of them. She didn't even realize that Yang only made that bet because the next town was straight ahead of them. Yang laughed, scratching the back of her head again before realizing something. Ruby running full force had knocked sand all over her. More importantly, in her precious hair. Feeling the anger rising, her lilac eyes turned red, and she started running after Ruby.

* * *

Ruby had managed to make her way to the town gate in no time, leaving her sister far behind her. While Yang had more upper body strength than she did, Ruby was always faster. It was one of her greatest skills. Almost no one could match her speed. Yang always blamed it on her hyper active nature. Approaching the gate, she noticed a large welcome sign overtop of it.

"Welcome to Vale." She read aloud, putting a smile on her face.

Passing the gate, she started walking through the town, marveling at everything they had. It was a pretty nice place, to say the least. The grounds were well-kept, despite being made of sand, and they had quite a lot to do. From fancy saloon's, to even fancier hotels. They weren't exactly 5 star, but they looked quite well taken care of. Her eyes rested on one establishment in particular that piqued her interest. It was a large building, even larger than even the hotels around the area. The sign read 'Beacon Bounty Center'. Her eyes lit up and she darted inside, staring in amazement at everything the place had.

It had a large assortment of weapons and weapon care equipment, barrels of water, even food and camping supplies. On the far end of the store was a large bounty board. As she looked around at everything, not paying attention, she had accidentally bumped into a water barrel. The barrel fell over, spilling a large amount of the clear liquid over the floor. Ruby managed to slip, stumbling to keep her balance.

"Whoooa!" She cried, failing to keep her balance and falling over. When she had, she managed to bump into someone else who had also been nearby, knocking them down with her. All she heard was a loud thump, the sound of breaking glass, and a small explosion. A black cloud erupted around her after the explosion subsided. When the cloud dissipated, she struggled to her feet, still piecing together what had happened. The person she bumped into turned out to be a girl. She had alabaster colored hair, a light blue sleeveless shirt, covered by a similarly colored jacket. She also wore white pants with a light blue sash, and white boots. This girl stood up, obviously fuming that Ruby knocked her over.

"You complete dolt! Watch where your going!" She yelled.

Ruby started panicking, shaking her hands out in front of her. "I'm sorry! I'll pay for all the damages! I wasn't looking where I was going and I knocked over that barrel and I _really_ didn't mean to-" Her rambling was cut off, as the alabaster haired girl clearly didn't want to hear any of it. What had happened was pretty obvious anyway, so an explanation really wasn't necessary.

"Sorry? Do you have _any_ idea of the damage you just caused!? Ignoring the fact that you just wasted some _perfectly_ good water, but your carelessness managed to destroy one of my viles of dust! Your lucky we weren't killed!" She yelled. Ruby was slowly leaning away from being apologetic, and more toward being just as annoyed. She had already apologized, _and_ agreed to pay for the damages.

"Hey. I said I was sorry, princess." Ruby shot back.

"How _dare_ you. You insufferable little dolt, I should-" the argument was cut short as another voice broke through.

"Is everything alright here, Ms. Schnee?" The voice had asked. Ruby and Weiss diverted their gazes to the source of the voice. It was an older man, with silver hair. He wore glasses, and his attire consisted of a green, sleeveless shirt with darker green vest overtop of it. He had a dark green scarf around his neck, for blocking out sand when need be, and green pants. Ruby noticed he held a cane in his hand, and oddly enough, a coffee mug in the other. He was also accompanied by a woman.

"Actually, Mr. Ozpin, I would say things are _far_ from alright. This _dolt_ managed to-" The girl was cut off once again. This time, by Ruby herself. The way the younger girl saw it, things would be better off with her explaining her mistake. Issues would only arise if this _other_ girl explained it. She had a feeling she would make things out to be worse than they really were.

"I accidentally knocked over a barrel of water, sir. Than I slipped on the water and bumped into her, spilling some of her dust and kinda, sorta...blowing a hole in the floor..." she said, meekly, poking her fingers together. "But I promise to pay for any of the damages!"

Ozpin chuckled. "It's quite alright, Ms. Rose. So long as the damages are covered, I see no point in fretting over the situation." he said, kindly. He looked at the other girl, who was clearly still not happy. "Weiss, I assure you, we have plenty of dust to cover whatever was lost."

Weiss just huffed and left the bounty store, slamming the door as she left. Ruby just stared at the door, hoping the girl wouldn't be coming back to yell at her any further. Than, she suddenly remembered what Ozpin said a moment ago. He called her Ms. _Rose_. But she was sure she'd never met him before. "Wait, so how did you know my-"

"There you are!" Yelled another female voice. This one, however, Ruby recognized. But with how angry it sounded, she'd wished she didn't. Running into the bounty store, obviously _very_ angry, was her sister Yang. "You got sand in my hair, you little brat! Your lucky your my sister, or I'd have to pound you into the ground!" Yang yelled.

Ruby stepped back, putting her hands up defensively. Ozpin, in an attempt to calm the situation down, tapped his cane on the ground, earning the attention of both girls. "Now, now. I'm certain there are other ways you can settle things, Ms. Xiao Long." Ozpin said. Much like Ruby, the fact that he knew her last name confused her. Ozpin noticed the confused glances both girls were giving him.

"How do you know our last names?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin seemingly ignored her and walked to the back of the store. He approached the counter by the bounty board, walking behind it and opened a drawer. Sifting through several papers, he grabbed two of the ones he was looking for and shut the drawer. Walking back toward the two girls, he held both papers up, causing their eyes to widen in shock. Yang tensed, preparing for a fight, should there be one. Ruby merely took a step back. The papers he was holding, were their wanted bounty posters. The younger girl turned around, and noticed that the woman he was with was now blocking the exit.

He was going to take them in and take their bounties. However, something didn't quite add up. If he were going to, he would've taken Ruby down before Yang showed up. But here he was, about to take them both on at once. He was either really strong, or really stupid. Surprising them, however, he revealed to be neither. "Calm down. I'm not interested in your bounties." He told them, allowing them to relax a bit. "I am merely, curious. How is it, that two young girls, such as yourselves, could have bounties such as these?"

Yang gave him a cocky grin. "Were just that good." This caused Ozpin to laugh, while the other woman just shook her head. Yang's ego was probably bigger than the entire town.

"I suppose so. In that case, I _do_ have a proposition for the two of you." He told them. Setting the papers down, he took a sip of coffee and continued. "How would you two be interested in joining our lovely town?"

Ruby and Yang looked at each other. Was he serious? He knows that they have bounties on their heads. If they stayed, he could change his mind and take them in anyway. Not only that, but they'd never stayed in the same town for too long. Joining this town would mean staying there for quite some time. Ruby was the first to speak up.

"Why would you want us to stay here?"

Ozpin stayed quiet, simply staring at Ruby in the eyes. After what seemed like minutes, he finally spoke. "Do you know who I am?" Both Ruby and Yang shook their heads. "My name is Ozpin. I own the Beacon Bounty Center. Here, I care for, and prepare the other bounty hunters that reside here. That girl you had just met, was but one of my many hunters."

Yang looked at Ruby, wondering who he was talking about. Ruby rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. Her sister knew that she was never really good in social situations, so it wasn't hard for her to get a general idea of how that _meeting_ had gone. "I...kinda bumped into someone and sort of...blew her up.."

The blonde burst into laughter, clutching her sides as she gasped for air. She knew her sister was awkward, but something like this _really_ took the cake. Tears falling from her face, she wiped her eyes and tried her best to calm down. Ozpin waited for the laughter to die out before he continued. "Should you girls decide to stay, I can keep your bounties a secret from my other hunters. I can also supply you with a place to stay and offer you various mid to high level bounties from my board."

Ruby and Yang thought it over. Finding bounties and a place to stay wasn't really difficult for them. Each bounty they took in gave them enough money to afford a nice bed to sleep in, and there was always a vast number of criminals in each town. Staying at Vale didn't really offer them anything. Yang was ready to decline the offer, when Ruby noticed something on the bounty board. She approached the board, earning a confused glance from her sister. Reaching up, she pulled one of the posters down and stared at it.

The poster was for a man with a $600,000 bounty. The man was probably in his mid thirties, had orange hair, and wore a white suit. Ruby looked at the name, reading it aloud. "Roman Torchwick.." She said, quietly. Yang's ears perked up after hearing the familiar name. Ruby walked back toward them and handed the poster to her sister, who just stared at it for a moment. The blonde gave the silver haired man a serious look. "What do you know about this man?"

Ozpin looked at the poster for a moment, piecing everything together. "We know quite a bit about this man. Roman Torchwick, an alleged partner to the White Fang. Terrorist, but highly intelligent man."

"We already know all that. Do you have any _other_ information on him?" She asked. An idea struck Ozpin. He knew very well that these two had a very high interest in this man. Vale just so happened to have more information on Torchwick than anyone else, though, not by much. But it should-be enough to coax the two girls to accept his proposition.

"We do, Ms. Xiao Long. However, it is not information that we would give out so lightly. If you are willing to work with us, I'm sure we would be more than willing to work with you."

Yang diverted her gaze from Ozpin back to the poster. Ruby watched her, eyeing every inch of that poster. Roman Torchwick was a man they knew all too well. He was one of the reasons they never stayed in the same place, aside from all the people hunting them for their bounties. He was someone they _had_ to find. Ruby guessed that she was probably going to accept Ozpin's offer. And she was right.

"Deal. We'll join your other hunters here, but only on one condition." She said. Ozpin nodded. "Any information you have on Torchwick is ours. Same goes for any future information." The blonde folded the poster, stuffing it into one of the pockets on her jacket.

Again, Ozpin nodded. "We accept those terms. Though, I must ask. What exactly is it, that peaks your interest in such a high level criminal?"

"We have a personal vendetta against someone he works with. We need to find him, so we can find them." Ruby told him. Ozpin looked to his female companion, nodding as she moved out of the doorway so the girls could leave.

"Very well. I will look into any information we have on the matter. In the meantime, my assistant, Goodwitch will show you to your rooms. We have a small number available, so you will need to share the space with two other hunters who also just arrived. Welcome to Vale." He said, smiling kindly at the two. Rather than returning the kind gesture, the two girls just looked at each other. If the information they had was valuable, they could be one step closer to finding Torchwick. And all that much closer to finding their _real_ target.

**And that's it for part 1. Please leave reviews, especially critiques on how it could be improved! My grammar, while good enough to not invoke a death wish, may be frustrating for more educated readers, as I do often misuse certain spellings of their, there, they're, and even the 'your' contractions. I will be updating this story every Tuesday, and there shouldn't be any less than 2k words for each chapter. Much like Kindled Remnant, I also plan to keep A/N to either non-existent, or a minimum. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you all in the next chapter!**


	2. A team formed part 1: Frozen shadows

**Apologies for the late update. Found a temporary beta reader at the last-minute who went through and found some corrections that needed to be made. So, anyway, if the story is not updated on the planned Tuesday, you will only ever have to wait until Wednesday at most. Hope you enjoy!**

RWBY The Bounty

Chapter 2: A team formed pt. 1: Frozen Shadows

* * *

The Beacon Bounty store wasn't the fanciest of places. If she had to guess, Yang would say it would most likely match up with a 3 star hotel, in terms of quality. Still, despite that fact, it was a great place to stay for free. The only thing that worried her were their roommates. Since everyone that stayed there was a bounty hunter, there was no telling who'd they'd be rooming with...or if they'd try to take them in for their bounties.

Glynda stopped in front of them, approaching one of the wooden doors. She pressed her ear against the wooden frame and knocked a couple of times. When she heard no response from the other side, she turned back to the girls. "Okay. This is where you will be staying for as long as you're in Vale. Just keep the room in order, and we won't have any problems." She said, and left. Yang turned to Ruby.

"Well she seemed...nice."

Ruby chuckled slightly, walking past Yang and into the room. "Well, at least she's not the meanest person in this town." she said, remembering the spat she had with that Weiss girl earlier. Shrugging, Yang walked inside the room, Ruby following suit. The room wasn't all that bad-looking. It had 2 bunk beds resting side by side, a bookshelf, bathroom, and one closet that was to be shared by everyone. As the two looked the room over, they noticed a girl sitting in the corner, quietly reading a book.

"Um. Hi." said Ruby. The black-haired girl looked at them through the corner of her eye, before looking back down at her book. The two girls got the feeling this one wasn't very social.

"Hi." She responded, still staring at her book. This girl clearly didn't seem too interested in maintaining a conversation with them. Still, Ruby tried her best to be friendly.

"So. My names Ruby, and this is my sister Yang." The girl remained silent. "So...what's your name?"

"Blake." The girl responded in a rather bored manner. Ruby started getting nervous. She wasn't very good in social situations, as shown by her initial interactions with that Weiss girl. Sometimes, being silent was more nerve-wracking than mindless yelling. Yang leaned over to Ruby, whispering in her ear.

"I think this girl's a lost cause, Rubes. Maybe we should just get some rest."

Ruby only nodded in agreement and looked back at the beds. Ozpin had told them that they would be sharing the room with 2 other hunters. Blake was already in the room, but who and where was the other one? More importantly..

"So. Which of these beds are open?" Yang asked.

Again, without looking up from the book, Blake spoke. "I have the bottom bunk beside me. The only available beds are both top bunks."

Yang climbed up and jumped into the bed above Blake's, leaving the other for Ruby. The younger girl approached her bed and stared at the one below it. The bed seemed different from the others. It had fancier sheets and pillows over top it. Sticking out from underneath it were several metal cases with a snowflake pattern painted over them. The pattern seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't recall why. Deciding it didn't matter, she climbed up to her bunk, closing her eyes to rest. Hearing the door open, she quickly sat up to see who had entered the room. She mentally groaned at the sight of a familiar, white-haired girl. Said girl took notice of her and immediately looked agitated.

"You!" she yelled, having earned the attention of the others in the room. Even Blake had managed to tear her eyes away from her book. "What do you think you're doing in here!? This room is for bounty hunter _only_!"

Ruby struggled to speak, thankfully being saved by Yang. Her sister stepped in front of Weiss, hands on her hips. "Uh, we _are_ bounty hunters, thank you. You should really speak for yourself, princess."

"_Don't_ call me that, you brute! I'll have you know, I'm _very_ capable in a fight. Unlike a certain _someone_ who looks like some low-class brothel worker." Weiss shot back, a smirk adorning her face. Yang's eyes switched from lilac to red. She was beyond furious, and ready to give this girl more than a piece of her mind.

Blake rolled her eyes, unable to read because of the loud commotion. She got up and stepped between the two girls. "Both of you, calm down. We're all just here to rest and relax before we go out to collect our _own_ bounties. You two will _barely _have to see each other."

Both girls stared at one another and sighed. Realizing that Blake was right, the two decided to just ignore each other and rest. Getting into their respective beds, they all remained quiet. Ruby stared at the ceiling, thinking. Her thoughts started with joining Vale as their personal bounty hunters. She'd never heard of such a thing before in any of the towns they'd been too. Bounty Hunters normally weren't supposed to work for any one town in particular.

Than there was Ozpin's offer of information. Did this town really have more information on Torchwick? Or would it just turn out to be information they already had? Thinking on it now, she realized they may have accepted his terms without really thinking it over. She guessed they _could_ just leave if they didn't have what they were looking for.

Finally, her thoughts drifted off to their new roommates, Blake and Weiss. Neither of them seemed very friendly. At least, not Weiss. The white haired girl seemed to have a _very_ short temper. Yet, it was difficult to imagine her being a bounty hunter. Blake was just...mysterious. Sitting in that corner, as silent as possible, just reading that book. She wouldn't even look away from it for more than a second. Not to mention, when she talked, she kept things short and blunt. Sighing, Ruby just closed her eyes and decided to sleep. Things were getting interesting alright.

* * *

Sleep was just not coming to her tonight. It was clear to her exactly why, however. The problem was lying in the top bunk across the other side of the room. That blonde brute's ridiculous snoring could wake all of Vale. It was appalling. Weiss groaned, turning over on her side and pressing her pillow against her ears. Sadly, it didn't do much to drown out the noise. Looking out the window, she could tell the sun was getting ready to come up. It would be pointless to sleep now, and she was sure the blonde would be hearing about this. Getting up out of her bed, she went to get herself ready for the day. Showering and putting on her clothes, she went to reach for her dust when she noticed something, or someone, was missing. That dark-haired dolt wasn't in her bed. Curious, she grabbed a couple of vials of dust and headed out to see if she could find her.

The streets were empty and baron, with only the sounds of her boots hitting the ground with each step. The younger girl was nowhere to be found. Deciding it didn't really matter, she made her way outside Vale's gates. Ozpin made sure to take good care of Vale's bounty hunters, and he had a special training area built outside its walls. Approaching the grounds, she was rather surprised to see someone else was already there. Only, they weren't training. Rather, they were...building? Moving in for a closer look, it turned out to be Ruby. What she was building wasn't very clear, though the basic form could be made out. At first glance, it appeared to be some type of scythe. Only, it looked far more mechanical. Another glance had revealed a familiar object lying on the ground beside her.

"Is that my dust!?" Weiss yelled, startling the other girl. Ruby quickly spun around, meeting the furious, cold gaze Weiss was giving her. The red-haired girl slowly stepped back, putting her hands up in front of her.

"Weiss! It's not what you think!" Ruby quickly said, still backing away from the angry hunter.

"Oh, really? If that's the case, then that _wouldn't_ be my dust? You _didn't _steal it from one of my cases?"

"N-no? I got it from Ozpin. Check it yourself." Replied Ruby, handing the angry girl the vial of dust. Weiss harshly snatched the object from her, inspecting it closely. Her story appeared to check out, as all of her vials had the Schnee crest engraved on them. Not only that, but her cases would've been broken into if this girl had actually stolen them. Feeling slightly embarrassed, she handed the vial back to Ruby, rather than apologizing.

"See? I wouldn't steal from anybody."

"Like I'm supposed to know that..." Weiss mumbled.

"You would if you _actually_ got to know me...Why don't we start over? And, you know. Try and be friends?" Ruby asked, smiling and holding out her hand. Weiss just stared at her hand. Rather than accepting the offer, she turned and walked away.

"Not interested." She replied, leaving Ruby to herself.

Ruby's hand fell back to her side, and she just looked on as Weiss walked away. Why was she so mean? She barely even knew her. Correction, she _didn't_ know her. It somewhat upset her that she was being so cold to her. Rather than dwell on it, she got back to work. At least they were only temporary roommates.

From across the field, Ozpin had been secretly watching the two girls interact with one another. Ruby and Weiss, along with Yang and Blake, were the interesting bounty hunters. He had known Blake and Weiss only slightly longer than Ruby and Yang. The two had come to Vale one month prior. He also took note of Ruby's rather...peculiar invention. It was an interesting piece for sure. So far, all the girl had built was a basic scythe frame. However, the interesting part was that she seemed to have been in the process of adding hinges to it. Considering the scythe's common use as a gardening tool, it was difficult to find any benefit to adding such extras. Even if they were only for aesthetic purposes, Ruby wouldn't be wasting precious time and energy on something so useless. Especially not if she needed dust. It had been a while since he'd met bounty hunters as interesting as these four. He'd be sure to see just what they were capable of. Turning back towards Vale, Ozpin headed back for the bounty store, planning to go through the information he had promised Yang.

* * *

Several hours into the day, Ozpin had called all four girls to the meeting room in back of the bounty center. Confused, the four girls complied with the request. Entering the rather small room, they each took a seat at a rather large table. Ozpin, sitting opposite them next to Glynda, took a sip of coffee before speaking. "I am sure your all wondering why I've asked you all to meet me here."

Holding his hand out to Goodwitch, she handed him a stack of several papers, to which he gently placed on the table. Both Yang and Ruby leaned in closer, wondering if those held the information they were hoping for. Ozpin, of course, knew they would jump to that conclusion, and merely shook his head. "I apologize, but we still haven't sorted the information you inquired about. Once we have, we will let you know."

Both girls slumped in their chairs, and allowed Ozpin to continue. He handed each of them several copies of the documents he had, expecting each girl to look them over. Reading through the information, they noticed the documents held information on several high level bounties. Bounties far out of their range and skill level. Each of them stared at him quizzically.

"Allow me to explain. Vale, the place that many families call home, thrives on the protection and relationships it has with bounty hunters. Through these relationships comes revenue. Most of which accounts for a moderate amount of Vale's funds overall. To continue to prosper, each bounty hunter we take in will go out and collect, only the highest bounties they can. Should a bounty be too difficult for one person alone, they will set up a team with up to 3 other bounty hunters, and split the profits evenly. The bounties I've given you would only require teams of two. Therefore, I am proposing that you work _together_ on these assignments."

Each girl looked at one another, gauging what the other was thinking. Ruby smiled when looking at Yang, but when her eyes met Weiss', she knew what she was thinking. There was _no_ way Weiss was working with such a dunce. The girl couldn't even handle herself around a barrel of water, let alone survive in an actual fight. Weiss looked at Blake, whose eyes were just fixated on each of the documents. In all honesty, she'd rather work with her. At least Blake seemed to promote some form of intelligence. However, what Ozpin said next surprised them.

"I'm sure you've already decided who each of you would rather work with. However, I would highly recommend getting to know one another's fighting styles. Each criminal will require a different form of tact. And, with each criminal, different combinations will be required to quickly take them in. In some cases, Ruby and Yang would be able to work together, when other times, a team made of Ruby and Ms. Belladonna may work even better." Ozpin continued. Ruby looked back at Weiss, who just sat there and stared at the table. This would mean that, eventually, Weiss and Ruby would have to work together. Alone. Weiss wanted to refuse. However, much like Yang and Ruby, she had also struck a deal with Ozpin. Refusing even a single request could jeopardize that. She looked back at Ruby, who just smiled at her. Bringing a hand to her face and shaking her head, all she thought was 'This had _better_ be worth it.'

* * *

**Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter! Leave any reviews, and feel free to throw some criticism in there! Until next time!  
**


	3. A team formed part 2: Stay out of my way

**Ok. So seeing as how my work schedule conflicts with my Tuesday schedule, I will have to update the story every Wednesday. To accommodate this, I will try my best to make each chapter longer. Anyhow, on to the chapter. **

RWBY: The Bounty

A Team Formed Pt 2: Stay out of my way

* * *

The tension growing between the four girls was certainly starting to get uncomfortable for Ruby. The tension mostly emanated between her and the prissy princess, Weiss Schnee. Ever since the two had met, Weiss had been nothing but cold toward her. She didn't even have a reason. The damage was paid for, she apologized, there really was no reason to continue treating her the way she had. To make matters worse, she may have to work with her! What Ozpin was about to tell them didn't help the matter either.

The silver haired man lead them out of beacon, walking past the training area. Each girl seemed confused, unsure of where exactly he was taking them. Their questions were answered when they reached another large gate, similar to the one at the entrance to Vale. The gate stood at the bottom of a large valley that seemed to stretch on for miles. Ozpin stood at the entrance as Glynda dropped four bags in front of them.

"Now then. To test the chemistry between you, each of you will be traversing through the valley of Forever Fall. These bags contain the essentials for survival, enough to last each of you for two days." Ozpin told them.

Ruby knelt down, unzipping one of the bags and searching through it. Inside, they found it had plenty of food, water, and some mild first aid equipment. However, it also contained a map. Curious, she pulled it out and unfolded the parchment. Weiss looked down at that map, before looking back to Ozpin.

"What do we need these maps for?" She asked.

"Your goal is simple. Using that map, you'll make your way through the valley. Along the way, you'll meet various low level thugs and criminals. It would be in your best interest to rid yourselves of any opposition, and make your way to the far north. There, you will find a shrine built to commemorate man's discovery of dust, with an assortment of relics. Old vials of highly powerful, unrefined dust. You will grab them, and bring them back here, guarding them with your lives."

The four girls nodded. Ruby placed the map back in the bag safely, and placed it on her back. The others did the same, staring out into the valley that lies before them. Ozpin and Goodwitch looked at each other, nodding and opening up the gates. Once the girls were through, the gates shut behind them, indicating that there was no turning back. Ozpin and his assistant both stared at the gates.

"Are you sure about sending those four into the valley, Mr. Ozpin? You know very well that the criminals inside are_ far_ more dangerous than low level thugs. The shrine itself will also pose quite a threat." Ozpin merely turned his back to her in response, moving away from the valley's entrance. The older woman stared at his back, wondering what he was exactly keeping quiet about.

* * *

The valley was long and barren, showing no indications of life. After several hours of just walking had passed, neither girl had even caught a glimpse of an animal. The sand crunching beneath their boots, they walked on in silence until frustration set in. Yang was the first to speak, stopping to take a break and collapsing to the ground.

"Ugh. How much farther is it?" She complained. The others stopped to look at the blonde, who was now lying on her back. Blake and Weiss shook their heads. Ruby approached her older sister and smirked. Not too long ago, Ruby was in the same position while Yang played it off like nothing. Now, the roles were reversed, and the blonde knew her sister was enjoying it.

"For someone who talks so highly of themselves, I'm surprised you'd be the first to give up." said Weiss, not even looking at the blonde. The anger welling up inside her did nothing but mix with the already high levels of frustration and exhaustion Yang was feeling. She quickly stood up and approached the white haired princess, giving her a piece of her mind.

"Like _your _one to talk. All you've done since we've met is act like a spoiled little brat who seems to get off by antagonizing my little sister!" yelled Yang, clenching her fists in anger. It wasn't difficult to anger her, however, something about Weiss just rubbed her the wrong way. Yang was rather good at reading certain people, and Weiss came across as a spoiled little girl who's gotten everything she wanted at the drop of a hat. How she ever became a bounty hunter was far beyond her.

"Your _sister_ has been nothing but a nuisance since she arrived at Vale! Only a complete _dunce_ could accomplish destroying that much property after five minutes into her arrival!" Weiss shot back. Yang quickly grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up off the ground. Normally, this would strike fear into anybody, however, Weiss only seemed more angry. "Put me down!"

"No way! I'm not putting you down until you apologize to my sister, and tell us exactly why your being nothing but a cold little brat!"

Just like before, Blake stepped in to quell the argument. The raven haired girl placed a hand on Yang's, urging her to release her grip and let the girl down. Yang would not comply, and only seemed to tighten her grip on Weiss. "Let her down. She's not worth getting yourself killed."

Yang chuckled. "Like little Ms. Ice queen could do that."

"Actually, it's heiress. Her name is Weiss Schnee. Heiress to one of the only dust refineries in Remnant. Even hurting her would have the world's strongest bounty hunters chasing you down. And they _don't_ take anyone alive." Replied Blake. Weiss had a smug look on her face when Yang loosened her grip. It was the same with anyone else after learning of her lineage. Power bred fear, and the name Schnee had a high abundance of power. Ruby stepped between the two.

"Guys, we need to be able to focus and work together if we're going to get to that shrine. So, why don't we all just get to know each other a little?"

Weiss just turned and continued walking. "Again, not interested red."

Ruby shook her head in defeat. She didn't even know her name, yet she acted as if she was better than her. Blake looked at Ruby with a sad look. She could tell the younger girl only wanted to be friends, and she was trying hard. Blake placed a hand on her cloaked shoulder. "It'll be ok Ruby. Not everyone's good at making friends." Ruby just smiled and continued walking.

* * *

After spending literally half the day walking, they finally managed to exit the first part of the valley. They were surprised to find that the inner portion was no longer just desert, but a vast oasis. Trees and water scattered across the land. Looking at the map, they saw that it marked the halfway point, with the shrine resting on the other side. However, it also marked where they would meet the opposition Ozpin had mentioned earlier.

"Well, that was easy. Relatively speaking. Now it's just a straight shot to the shrine." Yang said happily, taking the lead as they walked.

"You dolt. Were you even _listening_ to Ozpin? He said that we'll be meeting opposition. As in _actual_ criminals. We can't just waltz up to the shrine. Especially not with how loud _you _are." Weiss shot at the blonde, not even meeting her gaze. Yang clenched her fists in anger again. She knew that if she attacked Weiss, Blake would just stop her again. Instead, she had another plan.

"Fine. Then why don't you just go off on your own? You _obviously_ have no intention to work with us. So why don't you just get to the shrine by yourself?"

Weiss stopped, considering the concept. If she went off on her own, she wouldn't have to deal with either Yang nor Ruby again. She didn't know much about Blake, so that wasn't much of a loss either. Weiss was used to working alone, and actually preferred it. If they separated and still got the relics, she could just tell Ozpin that they didn't work well together and let it be the end of it. He'd have no choice but to drop this ridiculous team business. "Fine." She simply replied, continuing to walk off by herself.

Ruby watched as the white haired girl walked off. Part of her felt nervous for her. If she were to be attacked by a group of criminals, she could be seriously hurt. On the other hand, Weiss hadn't exactly given her a reason to care. Yang placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Come on Rubes. Let's go. We can take a shortcut and get there faster." Ruby nodded and walked off with the remaining girls.

* * *

Off in another section of the valley, another group had also been planning to get to the shrine. They themselves had a map, various sections circled in red. Some marked as known enemy camps, and others marked for places that contained other sources of food and water. The group was made up of four men, the one holding the map being the leader. "Alright. So tonight, we'll attack this camp here and grab any supplies they have. After that's done, we'll head straight for the shrine." said the leader, putting the map in his pocket and grabbing a large , mace-like weapon. Swinging it to rest over his shoulder, he ran his hand through his orange hair. Once night fell, he felt that things would be getting incredibly fun. His lips turned upward into an almost sinister smile.

* * *

Another two hours had gone by since they split up, and Weiss was beginning to get tired. The sun had also gone down, making it more difficult to continue traveling. She looked around, searching for a safe place to rest for the night. The area was too open, so any criminal could just overtake her while she slumbered. Sighing, she continued to walk. Traversing over a small hill, she noticed a small camp up ahead. It wouldn't be the most intelligent decision to go down there, so she decided to try and go around. However, the sound of a snapping twig caught her attention. She immediately reached to her side and unsheathed her rapier.

In front of her was a small group of four, though, they had yet to notice her. If she attacked, the bandits in the camp below would surely be woken up and she'd be outnumbered. She decided it would be smarter to just avoid them and try to remain hidden. Re-sheathing her weapon, the lone girl carefully hid behind one of the nearby tress. Peaking around it, she could vaguely make out what they looked like. The one she believed to be the leader was very well built. He wore a large armored chest plate, metal boots and carried a mace-like weapon. Two of the others were similarly dressed, though, not as bulky as the leader. The final person seemed to have a Mohawk, and the only armor he wore was a lone shoulder plate with spikes erupting from the metal base. They seemed to be moving toward the camp.

The four of them suddenly stopped, crouching behind a nearby rock. She could faintly hear them talking. "Ok. The camps just ahead. We strike fast and hard before they can wake up. Leave nobody alive. Got it?" The leader said.

Judging by the sound of his voice, he couldn't be any older than 17, same as her. She guessed that the others were about the same age. They nodded, and started to move again. Weiss continued following them, trying not to make a sound. However, her boot managed to crush a cluster of twigs, and she quickly hid behind another tree. It was no use as she was caught.

"Someone's following us." the leader said, looking to his friends. "You guys go ahead. I'll take care of whoever's got a death wish."

The other members of his group smirked and nodded, quickly making their way to the camp. The leader readied his weapon and slowly approached the tree Weiss was hiding behind. She gulped and pulled out her rapier. Her soon to be attacker stopped, as if he was waiting for something. Weiss knew what it was. He was waiting for his cronies to make their attack, so he wouldn't ruin their plan. When the sounds of fighting filled the air, the man quickly struck the tree with his mace, breaking it in two. Weiss barely moved away as the upper half of the tree hit the ground. Seeing her, the man just laughed.

"You're joking, right? You're just a girl. This is going to be _too _easy." he said, rushing at Weiss and swinging his weapon. Weiss quickly rolled out of the way, immediately jumping up and kicking the man in the back, sending him to the ground on his stomach. Kicking him in the side, she turned him over and lowered the tip of her rapier to his neck.

"I'm _not_ just some girl. Don't you _dare_ underestimate me." She spoke coldly.

"Oh, come on beauty. Aren't you at least going to get my name first? Name's Cardin Winchester." He said with a smug look on his face. Weiss kept her cold glare. "Like I care."

Cardin spit right at her, causing her to move to avoid the disgusting action. When she did, Cardin took the opportunity to kick her in the stomach, sending her stumbling backward. Grabbing his mace, he started letting loose a flurry of attacks, to which Weiss just gracefully dodged. However, she knew the fight would need to be over fast. If it was still going on by the time his team finished their job, she'd be outnumbered.

* * *

Ruby and her group decided to take a break and rest. Since there were three of them, it didn't matter much as to where they rest. While two of them slept, another could keep watch. It was currently Blake's turn, though, Ruby couldn't really sleep. She was somewhat worried about Weiss. Ruby always a caring person, and could never bear the thought of something bad happening to someone. Especially not if she could stop it. She quietly rose from her spot, making sure that Blake couldn't see or hear her. She grabbed her bag, and slowly made her way out of their camping spot. Unknown to her, Blake knew she had left, and the reason why.

As Ruby picked up speed, heading in the direction she was sure Weiss had gone in, she noticed a faint sign of smoke in the air. It was pretty far away. She had a bad feeling and knew she had to head toward that smoke as fast as possible. Moving her legs as fast as she could, Ruby sped toward the smoke, carefully avoiding tress and rocks. A part of her knew that Weiss was about to be in trouble.

* * *

**There you have it. How do you guys feel about how I introduced Team CRDL? As always, leave any constructive feedback in the reviews! And I will be sure to respond to each review as soon as possible! Until next time!**


	4. A brief look at a heart turned to stone

**Seeing as how there's been a lack in updates for White Rose stories for the past 2 day's, and that I've been late _twice_ and had to change the upload schedule, I decided to upload the next chapter to the story. It's a little shorter than the others, however, that's only because you'll _still_ be getting the next chapter on time. On to the story. **

RWBY: The Bounty

A brief look at a heart turned to stone

* * *

While Ruby desperately tried to locate Weiss' position, the heiress was trying her best to fend off her attacker. Every second the fight dragged on meant another second closer to potential death. Once the other members of his group returned, the fight would be over quickly. There was no way she'd be able to beat four of them on her own in the dark. If there were light, she'd be able to manage and adapt. But the zero visibility made it impossible.

Cardin wasn't letting up. Using sheer force to try and overpower her, he swung high and low with his mace. All Weiss could do at the moment was dodge. Her rapier was far too small to guard against a strike from the larger weapon. His upper body strength gave him the ability to wield it one handed, making him far too fast than what she'd expect. Normally, weapons like that were heavy and required two hands which limited mobility.

Weiss managed to dodge yet another high strike, ducking underneath and leaping backwards to gain distance. Carding was slowly losing energy, breathing heavier than before. If she could keep this up, the fight could be over before it was too late. Running forward, Weiss faked Cardin out, feigning a high strike and attacking low. Striking him in the gut with the handle of her weapon, Cardin lost some of his footing, enough for Weiss to bring the handle around to collide with the side of his jaw. Cardin lost the rest of his footing, colliding with the ground. Like before, Weiss approached him and pointed the end of her blade to his neck. Hearing him gather spit, she quickly applied pressure, evoking a small amount of blood. He quickly swallowed, realizing the same tactic wouldn't work twice.

"This is why you _don't_ mess with a Schnee." Weiss said coldly, preparing to end the fight. She felt someone grab her hand, pulling her and the sword back away from Cardin. Her trusty rapier fell to the ground as her arms were positioned behind her back, earning a smug look from Cardin. "Let me go!" Weiss yelled.

Cardin laughed, approaching the struggling heiress. "So. You're a _Schnee_, huh?" he said with an amused tone. Weiss continued to struggled, but to no avail. The other members of Cardin's group had finished their attack and came back to help their leader. "Bring her down to the camp. I think we're going to change our plans up a bit."

Weiss internally cursed herself. If she hadn't gone off on her own, this might not have been happening. She hated to admit it, but even that red cloaked dolt may have been useful in this situation after all. Or even that blonde brute. The mistake was made, and nothing was going to change that. Weiss knew they weren't going to kill her. She had hoped, at least. They would probably hold her for ransom and collect a hefty "prize" for her capture. All she could do at this moment was to keep cool and search for any opening for escape as they tied her up.

* * *

As Cardin's group carried her into the camp they had previously conquered, Weiss could see the amount of destruction they had caused. Tents were tore down, smoke erupting from the ground where fire had been. She couldn't see any signs of bodies, indicating that the team had discarded them. The group had left the fire pit burning and gathered around it. Harshly dropping the girl to the ground on her side, they each sat down around the fire. Cardin propped up his mace and began cleaning it. "So. You're a Schnee, right? Related to the owners of the Schnee dust refinery?"

Weiss kept quiet, only giving him an angry glare in response. The reaction caused Cardin and the others to laugh. "Relax, princess. We're not going to hurt you. I think we'll just wait and see just how much your family will be willing to cough up for your safety."

"My father won't make deals with _scum_ like you. Only the strongest bounty hunters in all of Remnant will be sent out to take you down." Replied Weiss, venom in each spoken word. Again, the group just laughed at her idle threat.

"Sorry princess. But I think we can handle anything he'll send after us." Cardin stood up, propping his mace over his shoulder and walking toward one of the tents. The others followed suit. "You might as well get some sleep. We're going to have a _lot_ to discuss in the morning."

Weiss grumbled, taking notice of the one person left behind. He was the smaller one of the group, sporting a hideous Mohawk. Even a low life like Cardin was smart enough not to leave her unattended. Even if she couldn't escape, any other hunter or criminal could come along and whisk her away without their noticing. Her guard simply sat down at the fire pit, poking and prodding at the wood with a stick.

* * *

She could sense the faint smell of a roaring fire not too far from her current position. She'd been running for what felt like twenty minutes straight. There was no choice. She had to find Weiss if something bad was happening. Following the smell of burning wood, Ruby could finally make out the sight of a camp. Hiding behind a tree, she peered out to scout the area. At first, she didn't notice any people. Looking to the fire, she spotted exactly what she feared.

"Weiss." Ruby muttered to herself. Before she moved, she noticed another person along with her. Probably someone keeping guard. Looking him over, Ruby pondered how Weiss had gotten in her position. Her guard was pretty small, and didn't look very strong. There must be others somewhere close by, most likely sleeping. Carefully and quietly, Ruby snuck her way farther into the camp. Now only a few feet away, Ruby tried grabbing Weiss' attention without alerting the other man.

"Weiss..psst.." Ruby whispered. Weiss didn't reply, leaving Ruby to believe she had fallen asleep. Looking around, there was no way she'd be able to grab her from this position without alerting her guard. She slowly made her way around one of the tents, being careful to not make a sound. She knelt down and reached into the bag on her back. Pulling out one of the bottles of water Ozpin packed for them, she threw it across the camp, landing a little ways behind the man. Startled, he got up and went to find out what the noise was.

Taking this small opportunity, Ruby rushed over to Weiss and gently shook her awake. The girls eyes slowly stirred open, staring in surprise at her dark haired rescuer. "Red? What are you doing here!? You dunce, you're going to get yourself killed!" Weiss silently scolded. Ruby took a mental note of the fact that Weiss still didn't know her name and proceeded to untie her.

"I came to help you. Just relax, ok?" Ruby whispered back. Weiss kept quiet, peering around Ruby for signs of her guards return. Thankful that he was still searching for the source of the noise, Weiss was finally freed from the ropes that bound her. Standing up, she looked away from Ruby, confusing the younger girl.

"I suppose I should say...thank you.." Weiss said awkwardly. Ruby just smiled and looked around. The guard was making his way back, and would surely wake the others when they realized that Weiss was gone. Ruby turned to Weiss.

"We have to go. Come on."

Weiss nodded and quickly followed Ruby away from the camp. Since it was dark and the two were in a hurry, they managed to bump against a few trees during their escape. Ruby even managed to catch her bag on a branch before yanking it free and continuing on. They ran for as long as they could before exhaustion set in. Stopping to catch their breath, the two silently hoped they'd made it far enough away from Cardin. Weiss pulled out her map and laid it on the ground. Ruby pointed to an area west of their current position. "This is the direction I came from... If we follow a diagonal path heading North West, we should catch up to the others and still find the shrine." Ruby said, breathing heavily.

Weiss nodded and put the map back into her bag. Starting to walk, Ruby quickly spoke up. "My names Ruby, by the way." The white haired girl turned to her, a look of confusion on her face.

"What?"

"My name. It's Ruby. If we're going to be friends, you'll need to know my name instead of calling me red, right?" Ruby said, a faint smile appearing on her face. Weiss looked slightly dumbfounded. After everything Weiss had said to her, completely abandoning them to go off on her own, she still wanted to be friends? Sighing, Weiss continued walking.

"It's a pleasure." She said, half sarcastically. "But by no means are we friends."

"Well, I _did_ just technically save your life. So I'd say you owe me." Ruby replied in an amused tone. Weiss silently cursed under her breath. The girl _did_ have a point, to some degree. She sighed and decided to humor the girls notion.

"Very well. So what is it you want?" Weiss asked, hoping the girl would just get to the point and be as painless as possible. Ruby just gave her a sweet smile.

"I just want us to get to know each other. And, you know..be friends."

Weiss stopped walking for a split second, thinking about how to respond. She had no idea where to start, having not been the greatest at making friends. Touch the scar on her eye, her thoughts shortly drifted off to the reason why she never made any friends. As she walked, her thoughts than drifted off to how her and Ruby met. She _had_ been unnecessarily cold toward her, for no real reason. She guessed that be the best place to start.

As they walked, Weiss finally broke the awkward silence. "I didn't mean to come off as such a cruel person." She finally started, earning Ruby's attention. "Being an heiress, people are generally not very fond of me, without even having a reason. It was either jealousy, or just the hatred of my family. Power breeds fear, and from fear, comes hatred. It's just how my life has always been."

Ruby suddenly felt bad for Weiss. "So..why did you decide to become a bounty hunter?"

Weiss thought it over for a moment, trying to figure out how to exactly word it without giving too much away. "Let's just say, not only did I want to get away from it all..but there's a group of people who need to be shown just how hard they've made my life."

Ruby could sense the hatred coming from Weiss. She wanted to ask what it was she actually meant by that, but decided it was too soon. Weiss was _really_ scary when she wanted to be. Several minutes had gone by without either of them saying a word. Weiss was probably done sharing, so Ruby thought it was her turn. "Well, I became a bounty hunter because I wanted to help people. I travel with Yang and we take on all _sorts_ of bounties. But we're looking for one in particular.."

Weiss raised her eyebrow. She had to admit, Ruby had peaked her interest. "And that would be?"

"We don't know. We don't have all the details. A long time ago, a really bad person took someone precious away from us. Yang wants revenge, but I just want to see justice. The only lead we have is finding someone named Torchwick."

Weiss looked away from Ruby and stared straight ahead. The sun was beginning to come up, the slight sunlight making their path easier to see. The two continued walking on in absolute silence, hoping that they would run into the others soon.

* * *

_**Earlier**_

Having discovered Weiss disappearance, Cardin became furious. He berated and even punched his cohort for letting her get away. "You're an idiot Russel! Next time I leave you with a captive, _stay put_." Cardin growled. They searched around the camp for any sign as to where their captive had run off too. They weren't able to find anything at the camp, and started searching the outside. They were about to give up when Cardin came across something in the sand.

Picking it up, he noticed it was a map. Thinking it belonged to Weiss, he quickly looked it over. It was a map of Forever Fall Valley, similar to theirs. Only this one had an interesting marker on it. On the northern end, it had a red circle around a shrine. He grew a devilish grin, knowing _exactly_ where she was going.

"Well boys. Looks like we're going hunting."

* * *

**My apologies if the quality isn't as great as the others. My BETA Reader hasn't been able to BETA this or the last chapter. If any of you find any issues, let me know and I'll fix them A.S.A.P. As always, thanks for reading and I hope to see you all on Wednesday!**


	5. Chemistry P1: Blackened Flames

**Been renovating my house for a few days, so this ones going to be short. However, since I posted 2 chapters last week, I'm hoping that will make it okay. I'm not very proud of this chapter, however, I hope you guys like it regardless. **

* * *

The Bounty

Chemistry P1: Blackened Flames

* * *

The red and white duo continued their search for the others. With how long it was taking, they felt as if they would arrive at the shrine before locating them. Weiss had all but given up, planning on just searching for the shrine. However, she knew Ruby wouldn't. Yang _was_ her sister after all. Even if she wasn't, Ruby probably wouldn't give up regardless. She went out of her way to come assist her, and she had done nothing but yell and torment her. Looking back at the girl in question, Weiss thought about the type of person Ruby was. Her thoughts were cut short when Ruby began speaking.

"Hey, Weiss? Can I ask you another question?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. This girl asked far too many questions for her liking. She nodded her head, telling Ruby that she may continue.

"I know I sort of asked you this already, but why be a bounty hunter? I mean, you're an heiress, right? That's a pretty high social standing. Why demote yourself to a low social standing like us?" Ruby questioned. Weiss bit her lip. It was a simple question, but one that could give so much away. So much information that she would rather keep to herself. Thoughts racing between different responses, the heiress figured out a simple way to answer the question.

"It's because I wanted to get away from it all. The Schnee name carries a lot of weight. With its power, comes a cost. Every month, sometimes even weekly, some fool would decide they would try to seize the power for themselves. And every time they'd try, they would be dealt with. Harshly."

Ruby gulped, trying to imagine what attacking a Schnee would entail. With how powerful and rich the refinery was, they could hire the strongest bounty hunters and guardsman in the world. Getting involved with that, surely wouldn't have been pretty.

"I was merely allowed to watch as countless men and women fought to protect me. Quite frankly, I deserved better than that. I'm not some useless little girl who needs to be protected, and _this_ is my way of showing it. I especially plan on showing just how powerful I am to a certain group of degenerates.."

Weiss stopped there, leaving Ruby to dwell on who she was talking about. She figured the group mentioned involved that camp she rescued the girl from. Though, there was a lot more venom in her words that indicated otherwise. Deciding not to dwell on the matter, she returned her focus on finding Yang and Blake.

* * *

While Weiss and Ruby traveled in search for them, Yang and Blake were mirroring the action. After waking up and finding that her sister had left in the night, Yang was not a particularly happy person. Especially not after Blake had confessed to letting Ruby wander off into the valley on her own. As they walked, Yang continued scolding Blake on her decision.

"What made you think that was even a good idea, Blake? How could you let _my_ sister wander off to find that spoiled brat?" Yang asked. Blake just rolled her eyes, having already explained her reasoning to the blonde haired girl.

"Like I said before, Yang, your sister can handle herself. I'm sure Weiss needed her help as well. Your sisters a big girl."

Yang shook her head and sighed. She knew Ruby could handle herself. She was a bounty hunter with a $10,000 bounty on her head. But that's what worried her. If any of the thugs in this valley knew about that bounty, she was worried Ruby would get in way above her head. Without her there, she couldn't be sure that Ruby was safe. This business was filled with life and death situations. Any slight mistake could cost you your life. Thugs could attack you from anywhere, at any time.

Something that Yang and Blake were about to learn.

Blake had suddenly stopped in front of Yang, holding out her arm as if telling her to halt. Confused, Yang crouched beside the raven haired girl and looked ahead. Seeing nothing, she whispered "What is it?"

Blake kept silent, scanning the area around them. She relaxed slightly when she didn't see anything, before a loud blasting sound made her tense up again. She grabbed Yang and quickly tackled her lower to the ground. The blasting sound came from a rifle, sending a bullet soaring through the air, impacting with a tree behind them. Yang wiped the sand from her face before looking around for the source of the gun fire.

"Where did it come from?" She asked.

Blake frantically looked around again, yelling "Get down!" when another shot was fired. Another tree was struck as the girls struggled to find cover. Being in the desert, the trees weren't very thick, allowing the bullets to travel through the bark with ease. Hiding behind them would offer any real cover unless they could locate the source.

Blake searched the area once more, still unable to locate anything. All she could see was sand and the occasional tree. It baffled her how the attacker could hide so effectively. Trees were rather scarce in the area, and were the only real foliage around. Squinting, she noticed something moving slightly across the sandy ground.

"Yang, he's hiding in the sand! It's camouflage!"

Without skipping a beat, Blake reached in her bag and pulled out an odd looking hand gun wrapped in a mangy black ribbon. Aiming for the ground, she fired a round at her target, barely missing. The attacker quickly rose from the ground and swapped his weapons. His primary weapon appeared to be an ordinary rifle. The second weapon he had switched too seemed to be a makeshift grenade launcher. He reached behind him, pulling out a bottle filled with red dust. Shoving the bottle into his weapon, he pulled the trigger, sending the bottle flying toward Blake. Leaping out of the way, Blake managed to avoid the projectile, causing it to crash into the ground. It caused a small explosion, leaving behind a circle of flames. The man seemed irritated.

"Sit still you lousy brats! I'm not wasting all of my dust on you tiny things!"

This guy was clearly using them as target practice. Yang pulled out a pair of brass knuckles, pounding them together before rushing forward. The man chuckled, taking aim on the incoming girl. Gently gripping the trigger, he muttered a short "Gotcha now." before firing several times, inserting a new bottle after each shot. Yang managed to avoid several, still running toward him. He growled and pulled his rifle back out. Before he could do anything with it, Blake fired a round, knocking it back out of his hand. Out of desperation, he quickly threw several bottles at yang, landing several feet in front of her. Pulling out a pistol, he shot one at one of the bottles before turning to run.

Before he fired, Yang picked up speed, quickly grabbing one of the bottles before jumping away. The bottles exploded when shot, sending Yang flying onto her back. The blonde struggled to her feet, seeing Blake firing several rounds at the retreating man. Looking to the bottle in her hand, she thought up a plan, throwing the bottle toward the attacker. "Blake, pot shot!"

Picking up on the plan, Blake fired a round at the bottle, causing an explosion to knock their target onto his stomach. Before he was able to get back up and run, Yang and Blake were already hovering over him. He looked on in fear as Yang cracked her knuckles with a sinister grin. Seeing her raise his fist, his vision soon went dark, feeling nothing but the collision of metal with his head. Letting the unconscious man fall to the ground, Yang sifted through her bag. "There you are!" She exclaimed happily, pulling out a little book.

"What's that?" asked Blake.

"Oh, this? It's a bingo book. Me and Ruby add to it whenever we get to a new town. Let's see if this big guys in here or not." replied the blonde, scanning each page for her newest capture. After a minute had gone by, she closed the book. No match. "Welp. We got a nobody. By the way Blake, we made a pretty good team back there."

"We did. Come on. If we keep moving, we may run into Ruby and Weiss-"

Blake was cut off as a large explosion sent them flying. Rolling through the sand, Yang was the first to get up, searching for the cause of the explosion. What she saw was a group of three men. The tallest one was holding a rather large gun and had jet-black hair. She couldn't make out any facial features as they were all dressed in black hood's with goggles over their eyes, chest plates worn over top of them. The man with the large gun stepped forward.

"I knew that idiot would get into trouble going off alone. But getting beaten up by a couple of girls is certainly a new one." The man said, smirking and lifting the gun up. Yang and Blake looked at each other before turning tail and running. He fired several shots, creating various explosions behind them as they ran.

"Well.._that_ certainly escalated quickly!" Yang yelled, ducking her head after another explosion erupted behind them.

"We have to keep running! There isn't anything we can do to them right now!"

* * *

Beating their teammates, Ruby and Weiss managed to find the shrine they came to find. The large building was decorated with amazing carvings of mans discovery of dust. The pillars surrounding the outer walls looked old and worn out, beginning to show their age. Ruby stared at the entrance before looking around. "It doesn't look like Yang and Blake made it here yet." Ruby said, letting the disappointment show.

"We should wait for them inside. At the very least, we can secure one of the vials and be done with this." said Weiss, walking up the steps to the doorway. Ruby took one last look behind her, hoping she'd see Yang or Blake. When she didn't, she decided to follow Weiss into the shrine.

Much like the outside, the inside of the shrine was incredibly well decorated. Along the walls were more carvings and paintings. The columns inside seemed less worn down and were surrounding a large fountain of water. Approaching the fountain, Weiss noticed a problem. "There's four different doorways, and we have no idea which one to go through."

Ruby looked at each doorway. She studied them for a moment before smiling and running up to the one straight ahead, leaving Weiss behind. The heiress was still studying each doorway for a clue. "Which one do you think we should-" Weiss stopped when she noticed Ruby was gone, filling with anger. "You insufferable little dolt! Where on Remnant did you go!?" She yelled.

All she could hear was an echoed "This way!", unable to actually pinpoint the exact location. Looking to each doorway once more, she sighed and approached the door to her left, walking down it's empty halls. Outside the shrine, four more guests had managed to find the sacred building. Pulling out a map, they were able to come to the conclusion that they had found their destination.

"You can't hide forever." Cardin said with a sinister grin, as he and his team approached the entrance.

* * *

**Not the greatest chapter I know. I have also edited some minor mistakes in chapter 3 and will be doing the same with these two, should any arise. Next chapter will be a really long and polished one that I've had written up ahead of time, so I hope you guys will be looking forward to that one!**


	6. Chemistry 2:Winter Roses! A budding RWBY

**Apologies for the late update. Decided that I HATED the combat scene I had typed up, and could not, for the life of me, type one that I liked. So if anyone would like to co-write the combat scenes with me, I'd be more than willing to consider! **

The Bounty

Chemistry P2: Winter Roses! A budding RWBY

Explosions went off, one after another, breaking trees and scattering sand throughout the air. Each explosion caused both Yang and Blake to duck out of instinct, continuing to run for their lives. Running aimlessly, Blake tried to piece together the situation. They had no idea how long they'd been running for, nor did they have a clue as to where they were heading. Another explosion hit, this time landing a small ways to their left. The raven haired girl cursed under her breath. The aim of their attacker was beginning to improve. Trying to pull the map out of her bag, another explosion nearly caused her to trip. Scanning the parchment, she found a small glimmer of hope.

"Yang! The shrine isn't too far from here! If we can find a way to lose them, we can hide out in there and try to regroup with Weiss and Ruby!" Blake yelled. Yang somersaulted over a rock, turning in the air to face the impending threat. Blake stopped running, looking at her with confusion.

The blonde reached into her bag, pulling out a pair of brass knuckles. "In that case, I think we should have a little fun than!" she said, cockily. Backtracking, the girl ran toward the attackers, confusing them and her partner. The man grinned once more, loading another explosive into his weapon.

"Running at me head on? You girls aint very bright, are you?" Taking aim, more explosives launched toward Yang. As each explosive collided with the ground, Yang kept her focus on avoiding them, now circling her opponent. The man laughed as he fired his weapon crazily. After several more shots, the gun made a clicking noise, indicating a lack of ammunition. Grumbling, he went to reach into his side pouch for more. To his confusion, his hand never met the pouch, instead, meeting the bare side of his clothed leg. Frantically searching the ground around him, another person held the bag up.

"Looking for this?" The person asked. The man turned his head, shocked to see that it was Blake holding his precious ammunition. Scattered on the ground around her lied his other men, out cold. She smirked, realizing they had him. Her attentiveness and strategic mind allowed her to notice Yang's intention almost instantly. He could only attack one of them at a time, his henchman being of no real use. While Yang distracted him, Blake was able to sneak behind and apprehend the targets. The man turned around, hearing a laughing Yang, who was now approaching him slowly.

Anger welled up inside of him, having been made a fool of by two girls. Thinking on his feet, he rushed toward Blake, who had been more than ready for his advance. Swinging his mighty fist down, Blake easily avoided him and retaliated, kicking him square in the jaw. Even angrier now, he tried snatching his ammunition from the girl, only to have grabbed a hold of her bag. Ripping the bag from her back, he made a desperate decision, pulling out his backup pistol and taking aim. In a similar fashion to his cohort earlier, he was taking aim for his explosives.

"Blake!" Cried Yang, now taking up a full sprint toward her teammate. Arriving with just enough time, Yang grabbed Blake bridal style, causing the surprised girl to drop the ammunition. The bullet escaped the chamber of the pistol, but missed, meeting nothing but sand. Picking up his materials, he looked to the bag in his hands he managed to snatch from Blake. Curious, he rummaged through it smiling when he found a map. Looking it over, he was happy to see that it marked the exact destination the girls were heading in. Looking back at his henchman, still knocked out, he grinned. "You girls have no idea what kind of trouble you are in."

* * *

Blake was set down on her feet, turning to look at Yang. The blonde was clearly exhausted from carrying her, collapsing to the ground. Blake smiled, taking a seat by a tree before a realization hit her. "No!" She cried, jumping to her feet in panic. Yang looked at her questioningly.

"We have to get to the shrine fast! That guy from earlier managed to get my bag, _and _my map!"

Yang sat up, scratching the back of her head. "Yeah, so? I still have mine, so it's no big deal, right?"

Blake shook her head. "That's _not_ the problem. If they have my map, they know where were heading. Chances are he's gathering more man and ammunition, and he'll probably attack us again." Yang slowly pieced together all of Blake's information, still not breaking from her relaxed demeanor. "We have to get to the shrine, grab the dust, and leave as soon as possible." Yang sighed, getting up and gesturing for her to take the lead. They had to regroup, or things surely would get far more worse than they already had.

* * *

The halls of the shrine seemed endless, each step seemingly bringing her nowhere. Weiss was beginning to get annoyed, considering turning back and trying another door. Rounding yet another corner, she finally managed to see an exit. Another doorway resting on the opposite end. Taking a step forward, she noticed a problem. Staring at the floor, she was able to make out unusual crevices. "Booby traps." she muttered.

Taking her steps carefully, she slowly made her way down the hall. Each stepped seemed to hold yet another trap. When she was nearly in the clear, reaching her destination, a loud noise managed to distract her. "Weiss!? Where are you!?"

The sound was Ruby, clearly searching for Weiss in whatever area she was. The sudden sound distracted her, causing her to misstep and activate one of the traps. The ground beneath her feet slowly began collapsing from underneath her, sending her in a panic and sprinting down the collapsing hallway, ignoring any further traps. Each activation sped up the collapsing ground. "I swear that dunce is _dead_ when I find her! You hear me!? RUBY!"

* * *

Ruby wasn't fairing much better than Weiss when it came to getting nowhere. Her hallway was just as empty, taking her nowhere. "Weiss!? Where are you!?" She called out, getting no response. All she heard, or rather felt, was a slight trembling from the ground. Looking around, she couldn't find the source, shrugging it off like it was nothing. Continuing down her path, she finally found another door. Eyes shining with excitement, she ran forward, making it to the doors with no trouble at all. Swinging it open, she nearly collapsed to the ground with defeat. It was a fake door merely leading to wall, nothing behind it. "Who builds a door just to hide a wall!?" Ruby cried out, collapsing on her back. She just laid there, staring at the ceiling. However, she noticed something off.

Part of the ceiling looked like it had the capabilities to open up. The red haired girl stood up, examining the section of the ceiling. Looking down, she also noticed the same phenomenon. She kneeled down, placing her hand over it. "That's weird.." She muttered to herself. A loud screaming pierced her ears when the ceiling opened up and a large object fell on top of her. The object turned out to be Weiss.

"Weiss! I was looking all over for-" Her sentence was cut short as the floor beneath her suffered the same fate, opening up and dropping them. Ruby acted fast and grabbed the edge of the floor with one hand, while grabbing Weiss' hand with the other. Not having as much upper body strength as her sister, Ruby struggled to pull Weiss up. "Man, your heavy..."

Weiss took the chance to begin climbing Ruby, much to the girls displeasure. Once Weiss grabbed the edge, she hoisted herself up and assisted the other girl. Ruby was about to thank her before being hit on the top of the head by an angry Weiss. "You complete dolt! We wouldn't have gotten in that mess if you just waited for me!"

Ruby mumbled a quick sorry and stood up. Weiss sighed and decided to just continue with the task at hand, turning around and backtracking to the beginning of the shrine. Once they arrived, they were met with a displeasing sight. Standing at the entrance were Cardin and his cohorts, grinning happily. "There you are, Princess. We've been looking all over for you." Cardin said, walking toward Weiss.

The white haired girl pulled out her rapier, readying herself in a combat stance. Ruby did the same, reaching into her bag and pulling out a strange blade. It was a short sword comprised of two strips of metal connected with a strange mechanism. The blade seemed to be folded until Ruby unlocked the mechanism, turning it into a full sword. "A switch sword?" Weiss questioned.

Ruby nodded, readying her own weapon. "Yup. Built it myself. Think you handle these guys?" asked Ruby, seriousness evident in her tone. Weiss smirked, not uttering a word. Seeing the two girls taking a stand, Cardin and his group readied their own weapons. Ruby lunged forward with a speed that shocked Weiss. In the blink of an eye, she was already in the midst of battle with Cardin. While she was smaller and had a weaker weapon, Ruby was too quick for Cardin. The larger man wasn't able to keep up, trying his hardest to produce a counter strike. Ruby let loose a flurry of attacks aimed at his chest, striking Cardin's weapon a few times. Weiss quickly joined in, keeping Cardin's group away from the other girl.

Cardin swung his mace, slamming it into Ruby's blade, breaking it in two. Reaching back into her bag, she pulled out another odd looking weapon. It resembled a small scythe, missing most of the frame with a pistol sloppily bolted to it. Weiss moved behind Ruby, taking a quick look at the weapon in her hands. "Let me guess. You built this, too?"

Ruby answered in the form of a grin, loading a clip into the pistol and rushing forward, Weiss following behind as cover. The red haired girl stayed low to the ground, spinning in circles as she glided toward the group with her scythe blade mimicking her movements. Cardin, however, took the attack head on, blocking the incoming strike by slamming his mace into the ground. The scythe blade collided with the mace as Ruby smirked. Re-arranging her fingers, she gripped the small pistol and pulled the trigger, firing a round into Cardin's leg. The man howled in pain, dropping his mace and gripping the wound. Ruby took the opportunity to jump up, kicking Cardin in the chest and sending him onto his back.

Weiss saw Ruby's cunning tactic, returning her focus to the other boys she decided to take on. Taking her stand, she put a strong grip on her rapier and glided forward gracefully. The man with the Mohawk rose his sword, slamming it down into Weiss' rapier from above. Using his force and weight against him, she flipped herself over him, avoiding an incoming strike from the side. She kicked him in the back, propelling him forward into one of his teammates and sending them to the ground. Now that she could see them in the light, Weiss recognized the group. They were a group of bounty hunters, who had no regard for the well being of anyone. If it involved money, they would do it. Cardin Winchester, the leader that Ruby was currently facing. Russell Thrush, the idiot who had let her and Ruby escape their capture. Dove Bronzewing, the blonde member of the group, and finally, Sky Lark, the silver haired individual. They weren't the strongest group of people, but their threat level far exceeded what Ozpin had warned them of.

Weiss looked up and saw Cardin rushing at Ruby for another strike, and quickly ran to her aid, deflecting the mace. Russell and the others regained their footing, running back towards Ruby and Weiss. Ruby jumped backwards, landing behind Russell, grabbing him and throwing him toward Dove. Weiss managed to knock the mace from Cardin's hands once again, holding her rapier to his neck. He put his hands up defensively, but grinned. Confused, Weiss turned around to see that Russell and the others managed to get a hold of Ruby, earning a laugh from Cardin. "You know, this is the third time you've had me like this. Just can't catch a break, can you princess?"

Weiss growled at him, going over any possible way to turn this back around. The sound of bodies hitting the ground grabbed her attention, swinging her head back around. To her surprise, Blake and Yang had arrived, knocking out the three boys. Ropes and bruises now covering their bodies. "Miss us?" Yang asked, cheekily. Weiss sighed, returning her attention to Cardin and grinned.

"It appears that I just did."

Cardin growled, now being tied up like the rest of his cohorts. Yang put her hands on her hips, placing her attention on Weiss. "So, princess. Did you learn to play nice? Or are we going to have to vote you off the island again?"

Rather than waste her breath with a response, Weiss just rolled her eyes, beginning to walk away. Ruby looked to Weiss, than to Yang, deciding to speak up. "Wait. We need to stick together." Weiss stopped, looking back to the younger girl. "If we go off on our own, we'll just get into unnecessary trouble again. The dust is in this shrine. We don't need to keep arguing with each other." Ruby looked to Weiss specifically. "We don't have to be friends _now_. But can we at _least_ work together so we can get out of here?"

For the first time since they met, Weiss actually smiled, if only for a brief second. Blake walked in between them, clearing her throat. "Well we'll need to be fast. Yang and I got into some pretty big trouble with an explosion crazy psycho. He knows where we are, and he _will_ be coming here."

They all nodded in agreement, turning their attention to the four doorways. "So. Four doorways, four of us. Should we split up?" Yang asked, Weiss shaking her head in disagreement.

"No. Ruby and I already tried two of the doors. Her door leading to a dead end and mine...doesn't exactly exist anymore."

Blake approached the door to their right, examining the path and comparing it to the others. Each path had a column on each side of the door. However, this one had not. Since it was the only one different from the others, Blake believed this one to be the path they needed to take. "I think it's this one. We should move fast."

The other girls silently nodded, hurrying down the path. Unlike the two halls Weiss and Ruby had entered previously, this one didn't stretch nearly as long before a doorway came into sight. Throwing the door open, the girls were happy to see a large pool of water with a long walkway leading to large statue. The statue was far too eroded to make out what it was, but that wasn't what they came for. What they came for, were the vials of dust scattered around it. Each of them walked up to the statue, grabbing a vial of dust. Each vial contained a different color of dust. Ruby's containing red dust, marked with a flame symbol. Weiss's vial was marked with a snowflake and had a white color. Blake had purple dust, marked with a black moon, and Yang held yellow dust, marked with a lightning bolt.

"Why do they each have symbols on them?" Ruby asked. Yang shrugged her shoulders while Weiss spoke up.

"They resemble the power that each dust color contains. Dust is the physical manifestation of energy. Red for fire, white for ice, yellow for lightning, and purple for darkness. Each dust has their own uses and applications, determined by their color." Weiss explained, placing the vial in her bag. The others repeated the motion, falling to the ground as it began to shake.

"Oooh. What nooww?" Ruby whined. Yang and Blake looked at each other, knowing exactly what it was. Getting up and running outside, they were met with a large army of men, one of which sticking out. They were the same men they had faced earlier with the explosives.

"Hello, ladies. Allow me to introduce you to my crew. They aren't very pleased at being embarrassed earlier, and have come to return the favor." The man laughed. A large, cenacle grin grew on his face. "And we'll be sure to include interest"


	7. Red like TNT

**So, I apologize for the long hiatus. I have a number of "excuses" for this, though, only two of them retain any real water. I currently have 2 jobs, one being the job I attend 5 days out of the week, and the other doing website development. The website development had been sucking up my time and creativity, having to delete and re-work hundreds, almost thousands of lines of code. Rest assured, the hiatus is over, and I will work on the story as planned. This chapter should hopefully retain the quality you've all come to expect from this story.**

**Chapter update 4/24: Fixed quality issues with rushed grammar mistakes. **

**The Bounty  
Red like TNT**

* * *

Trouble has a weird way of returning to you at the worst time. The explosion happy criminals that plagued Yang and Blake during their separation found them faster than anticipated. With him, he brought up to 30 men, all pointing a variety of pistols and firearms toward them. The wicked smile adorning his face grew wider seeing the worried look on their faces. He uttered a belly heave laugh, booming through the room. "Oh, come on! What happened to that self-confidence from earlier!? Your taking all the fun from killing you!"

Yang quickly entered a defensive stance, as did Blake. "Ruby, Weiss. Be careful. These guys are _serious_ trouble." Yang said, seriously.

"That large guy uses explosives to eliminate the enemy. We're in close quarters and we're outnumbered 30 to 4. Escape won't be easy." Blake added.

Ruby examined the room, taking in every detail and scoping out the situation. It was true that they we're outnumbered, however, the majority of the group only had mild firearms. The larger man was the only real threat. Taking him out would render the others marginally useless. Looking around, she could tell they were in for a difficult fight. They had no cover, were rather tired from running and fighting, and to make matters worse, had to worry about getting the dust back to Vale without damage.

Going into her bag, Ruby grabbed a couple tiny bags, getting a confused look from her teammates. Taking a look at the objects in her hand, Weiss struggled to comprehend her though process. "Cherry bombs? What are those going to do?" asked the cold girl. Yang smirked, returning her attention to the enemy that lie before them.

"Not _cherry_ bombs. Another one of your crazy inventions, sis?"

"Well, it's not exactly finished. I never got a chance to test them. But now would be a good a time as any, right?" Ruby replied, gripping the bags tightly. With a burst of speed, she rushed forward. While her courage was certainly impressive, the man only laughed at the last-ditch effort for survival. Swinging his large weapon over his shoulder, he took aim at Ruby, worrying the other three girls.

"That dunce! Your sisters going to get herself killed!" Weiss yelled, taking off toward her teammate. As Ruby ran, the other criminals seemed unable to take her seriously, putting no effort into stopping her. Believing their boss would soon be able to take her out, each of them let their guns rest at their sides.

"I've gotta hand it to you, girly. You got courage, but you aint to bright, are you?" He sneered, locking on to his sprinting target. Once he was confident in the shot, he pulled the trigger, firing off another explosive straight toward her. To his surprise, Ruby was easily able to avoid the incoming hazard, without sacrificing any of her momentum. Frustrated, the man fired off several more explosives, still unable to make contact with their target. Frustration now turning to hot blooded anger, and without looking away, he called out to his men. "Stop standing around and take her down!"

Taking notice of the sudden outburst, the other men fumbled their weapons, taking aim at the elusive target. Before they could take a shot, Ruby suddenly propelled herself in the air, spinning around as she began throwing the bags she held in her grasp. Before landing safely on the ground, another explosive shot through the air after her. Not noticing the incoming threat, Ruby kept her focus on distributing the bags. Just as the explosive was about to hit, the young girl felt something collide with her, causing her to tumble to the ground.

The bags Ruby had thrown burst upon crashing into the ground, releasing a vast amount of what seemed like rose petals in the air. Confusion overwhelmed each criminal, stopping in their tracks to stare at the strange phenomenon. Having hit the ground, the remaining bags in Ruby's possession burst around her, concealing her entire form. Clutching her head in slight pain, she rose from the ground, looking for what it was that tackled her.

"Now were even."

Ruby turned around to face a slightly agitated Weiss, who was wiping the dirt from her outfit. Smiling awkwardly, the young girl looked around her, taking notice of the rose petals. Weiss, having done the same, began questioning Ruby about her tactic. "You dolt! You mean to tell me that you half wittedly risked your life, just for the sake of blinding them with rose petals?!" Weiss scolded.

Realization of the full situation struck Ruby, quickly grabbing Weiss by the arm and yanking her away. Making their way back to Yang and Blake, Ruby quickly explained everything to her cold teammate. "Weiss, those aren't just rose petals! I have them coated with red dust!"

Weiss' eyes widened with surprise. While it was certainly an unconventional tactic, it was rather impressive that this clutz had been able to come up with such an idea. Though, her surprise was short lived when Ruby stopped running. "What is it?" Weiss questioned.

Ruby slouched forward. "Um...well, when you tackled me, I wasn't able to actually set off the trigger..."

"You_ can't_ be serious."

"Well you _did_ tackle me to the ground and I..kind of dropped it.."

"I had to! If I hadn't, you'd be a pile of discarded bones by now you dolt!"

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, returning her attention to the group behind them. It was incredibly difficult to see, but she could hear yelling. Clearly, the confusion caused by Ruby's tactic had worn off, and they would certainly start shooting at them again soon. Weiss thought for a moment before coming up with a plan of her own. Shoving a worried looking Ruby out of her way, she ran over to Yang and Blake. Without asking, earning an angry "Hey!" from Yang, she quickly snatched the pistol that the blonde brute kept concealed in her boot. Ruby had rejoined her, piecing together Weiss' plan. Looking back to the shroud of roses, Ruby asked "Can you make it?"

Weiss merely offered a 'hmph' in response, before taking aim. Her target was Ruby's trigger, which had to be somewhere within the thicker shroud of petals. She had to be quick and accurate, the petals quickly falling to the ground. If she shot too late, or missed, the dust coated petals would no longer obstructing them from the criminals view, thus limiting the effectiveness of Ruby's strategy. Calculating where she believe the trigger to be laying, Weiss pulled the trigger. A single bullet flew from the chamber, making its way through the shroud. As it made contact with a surface, time seemed to slow down.

The four girls watched as a bright, orange and red light spread throughout the air. Flames catching on to each rose petal, triggering small explosions around the area. It was as if thousands of grenades had gone off one by one. When the smoke cleared, all traces of the rose petals had gone, leaving nothing but the bruised and ash covered bodies of their attackers. They could hear the occasional groan, indicating that, while severely hurt, each of them were alive. Each of them let out a sigh of relief.

"That's the end of _that._" Yang said, walking over and lightly kicking one of the criminals. She slowly skimmed through her bingo book, trying to match the faces to the images in her written database. "Think any of them are worth anything?"

Weiss shook her head and crossed her arms. "Doubtful. If any of them were worth the time or man power to haul back to Beacon, it would be their boss. But there isn't any point in wasting any more of our time here. We've got our objective."

Ruby nodded, joining her 'partner's side. "She's right. We have the dust and it's just a straight shot from here on out."

While she couldn't see it, Weiss had offered her a small smile. Blake decided to chime in, noticing that Yang hadn't taken her eyes off the book. "Besides. I don't think any of us have the energy to carry someone _his_ size all the way back."

Yang sighed, shutting the bingo book and offering them a small smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Doesn't matter anyway. This guy's bounty isn't any bigger than mine or Ruby's." she said, now acting full on cocky. Ego aside, Yang joined the others in their mad dash back to Vale. Unbeknownst to them, Cardin had watched some distance behind them. Seeing that they had left, Cardin and his group approached the unconscious criminal the four girls had left behind. Tightly gripping the mace in his hand, a small smirk spread across his face.

"Not too bad. I underestimated them. That red hooded girl can make some interesting toys." he said, kicking the criminal beneath his feet. Seeing as how the man still didn't stir, Cardin turned away, walking in the opposite direction of the four girls. "Take him with us. After we collect his bounty, we've got a little research to do. We might just get more than a simple bounty out of that one."

* * *

It had taken several hours, but the four female bounty hunters managed to return to Vale. Turning the dust into Ozpin, he allowed them to rest in their room before speaking with them about further bounty jobs. To this, each of them complied without question, having been looking forward to the rest. Ruby and Yang roughly plowed into their beds, earning a pair of rolled eyes from both Weiss and Blake. The raven haired girl took up her usual place in the corner of the room, pulling one of the books from the nearby shelf. Weiss sat at the edge of her bed, taking off her boots before resting her head on of her expensive pillows. She relished the silence, despite it not having lasted very long. She felt a tinge of annoyance when she heard Yang already snoring, apparently able to fall asleep quickly. The annoyance seemed to grow as Ruby poked her head over the top bunk.

"Hey, Weiss?"

Gritting her teeth, Weiss offered a quick "What?"

"I, uh..just wanted to say that..I think we worked well together, don't ya think?"

Sighing, Weiss thought about all the events that had transpired. It was true, Ruby was more adept at fighting than she originally thought. Sure, she wasn't the strongest member of the group, but she was much more intelligent than given credit for. Her out of the blue plan had probably saved their lives. And the types of weapons the girl had crafted on her own were intriguing. True, they would normally be deemed useless, but the types of design and functionality with each of them were something unheard of with, even the most skilled of blacksmiths. Even being useless trinkets, they did manage to come in handy with a proper plan of action.

Looking at the girl through the corner of her eye, she decided to give credit where credit was due. Getting up from her bed and approaching the door, she gave Ruby a smile small. After all, she _did_ save her from Cardin. "I...suppose we did, didn't we?"

Ruby gave her a large, toothy grin. "But this doesn't mean we're friends by _any_ stretch of the imagination! I will agree to being _teammates_, but friendship remains out of the question."

Ruby's smile faltered for only a moment as the white-haired girl left. "Don't worry. She'll come around eventually." Blake told her, not taking her eyes off of her book. Even though she could hardly see her face, the younger girl was able to make out a smile. "After all, ice doesn't melt instantly."

Smiling once again, Ruby nodded and returned to resting in bed. Staring at the ceiling, she thought about everything that was going on. From here on out, it wouldn't just be her and Yang. It would be different combinations of the four of them. They'd be like a family, even if one of them wouldn't admit to it. Her thoughts stayed focused on Weiss. Something about her awoke a need to befriend her. Ruby couldn't tell if it was just the constant rejection or her own friendly nature. Whatever the case may be, it didn't matter. One way or another, she'd make Weiss admit to being friends. While they worked together, she'd have plenty of time to see to that. Like Blake said, ice doesn't melt instantly.

**As an added note to the hiatus, I've also been getting all the booking and plans set for RTX this year. I'm super excited for the Ruby panel and let me say, booking a flight is a pain in the butt, given that this is my first ever flight. Despite the fact that I'm almost 21 years old. I tried uploading this chapter yesterday, but I kept getting error 2'd. **


	8. End of Arc 1: Arc 2 Intermission

**So I forgot to include this in the last chapter, so I decided to make it it's own. Don't worry, another REAL chapter will still come out alongside this. The interim isn't detrimental to the story (consider it a filler), so this way, you can also skip it if you'd like. Just a heads up, however, I'm incredibly ill and refuse to call into work sick, so the quality of these chapters may reflect that. Having just getting back from a month long hiatus, I didn't want to leave you guys without a new chapter. **

The Bounty:

Arc Interim

Go forth Team RWBY!

* * *

While the four female bounty hunters rested within their quarters, Ozpin took the time to search through the information they held on Torchwick. It wasn't as much as he believed Yang had hoped, but it should be to expected. Torchwick is a high ranking criminal, and an elusive one at that. Much of the information they had was basic. How he would attack dust facilities, often leaving the facility owners alive, only for them to be taken out days later by another mysterious newcomer. However, they did hold some more, confidential, information. Not much, but enough to satisfy Yang's demands and keep her around, along with Ruby. Separating the documents, he was left with only three. One of which was a warn out wanted poster of a silhouetted figure. This particular poster was the only one of its kind. No bounty store in its right mind would accept it, on the grounds that no hunter who accepts it, would know who they were looking for. It gave no information, had an undisclosed reward amount, and was overall useless.

Despite this fact, Ozpin had accepted it regardless. He had a feeling it was somehow connected with the Torchwick attacks. The poster had come to light after a couple of days had passed, following one of the attacks. The store clerk was killed, and all anyone could acquire as far as intel, was this poorly taken photo. Putting away the other documents, Ozpin heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." he replied. The door opened, revealing the guest to be his assitant, Goodwitch.

"Good evening Ozpin. I have come to inform you of the return of those four girls from Forever Fall Valley. They managed to retrieve the dust you requested and are currently waiting on the training grounds." Goodwitch told him.

Ozpin smiled, neatly folding the papers and stuffing them in his jacket. "Very good, Glynda. Please inform them to wait in their room. For now, they are to rest. I will have you retrieve them later."

Goodwitch nodded, closing the door as she left. Ozpin's smile hadn't faltered. He was proud that they managed to get the dust and return. He had expected as much from them. Opening his drawer once again, he pulled out four more documents, spreading two of them along his desk. Yang and Ruby's bounty posters. He knew all about the four of them and knew they would be a great asset to Vale. All he had to do was prepare them. As he was sure they learned in the valley, the road to their goals would not come to them easily. All the bounties they may have collected up to this point meant nothing. They weren't any real challenge when compared to what they were about to take on.

**And that's the end of the Team RWBY arc. The next arc also starts today, starting the Departure arc. While the last arc was the introduction and setup arc, this arc will swap out the introduction portion, in exchange for character build up and action. Criminals and Bounties will make up a majority of the arc, so the slow pace will pick up a bit. Each chapter of the arc will focus on two members of Team RWBY at a time, much how the later portions of the first arc were handled. This will allow me to get the character build up to run smoother, and build the relationships between the characters much easier and ensure a more, higher quality with the dialogue. Anywho, those of you who didn't skip this chapter, I hope you look forward to reading the next chapter! **


	9. Bumblebees departure and a Worried Rose!

**The Bounty**

**Bumblebee's departure and the worried Rose!**

* * *

After resting from their earlier mission, the four female bounty hunters received instructions to meet Ozpin's meeting room. They all new fully well that this was the moment where Ozpin would assign the teams of two and their bounties. Even though things were beginning to ease up between the two of them, Ruby was still nervous about being partnered up with Weiss. Despite things slowly getting less tense between them, she didn't know if they would get along with one another, alone, for an extended period. Weiss' coldness might kill her before the criminals do.

It wasn't even just Weiss. She wasn't too keen on working with Blake either. She liked the raven haired girl, and new they'd be great friends. But the girl wasn't exactly the conversational type. The constant quiet atmosphere would drive her insane! She had hoped that she would have Yang as her partner, at least for the first bounty. But part of her knew luck wouldn't be on her side.

As they sat down, once again, Ozpin started passing out the bounty posters. However, this time, he only held two, placing them in the middle of the table. Though confused, the four girls sat quietly, waiting for the older gentleman to continue. Clearing his throat, Ozpin explained. "As I explained before, the four of you will be splitting into teams of two, based on the types of teamwork that would be required. Teamwork that I'm sure you've discovered in the valley."

The four of them looked to each, than back to Ozpin. "I had two of my more, experienced hunters, keeping a close eye on the four of you. If those hunters would care to introduce themselves."

The door to the meeting room opened as two other men walked into the room. One of the men was a larger man, eyes closed and hair grayed. A large mustache adorned his face, while the man next to him was completely different in contrast. He was much thinner, though held a sloppy demeanor. His clothes disheveled, his hair green as moss, and his eyes concealed by a pair of glasses. In his hand, he held a large coffee cup, similar to Ozpin's.

"Good day to you four! I must say, you four showed _impeccable_ fighting prowess back in that valley! Simply remarkable!" The larger man commented, rather loudly. The man beside him just took a sip of his coffee. The four girls sweatdropped.

"Pardon me, but these two hardly look like experience hunters." Weiss said. Within an instant, the thinner man appeared behind her, startling her and causing her to jump.

"Pardon me, Ms. Schnee, but looks can be decieving. Failure to learn such a thing could wind you in _much_ unwanted trouble." The man said, taking another sip of his coffee and appearing beside the larger man once again. The larger man just laughed. "Always dropping the wisdom, Oobleck! Your knowledge knows no bounds!"

Ozpin chuckled lightly. "These two are not only experience hunters, but also close friends of mine, and have been for many years. They've informed me of everything that happened in the valley. And, more importantly, who would be able to work together for this particular bounty."

The four girls looked at one another again, confused. Yang was the first to speak up. "Uh, I thought you had _two _bounties. One for each team? What gives?"

"Whenever one team departs beyond Vales walls, the other team shall remain here, should they be needed for more pressing matters. Such as being backup for the other half if things should get too difficult to handle. For this particular bounty..."

Ruby closed her eyes, silently hoping he would say 'Yang and Ruby'. It felt like an eternity had gone by, impatiently awaiting for the names. Finally, Ozpin had made his decision. "Yang and..."

Here it comes.

"...Ms. Blake Belladonna."

At that moment, Ruby felt her heart drop. If Yang and Blake were the ones to depart, that meant that her and Weiss would be left in Vale. Alone. As in, just the two of them. Looking to the white-haired girl, Ruby tried judging her reaction. It was impossible to tell, as Weiss almost always had a blank expression on her face. However, she had a feeling the girl was not quite thrilled.

As Ozpin continued, Ruby zoned out. She just kept thinking about what she'd do while stuck in Vale with Weiss. She _could_ just stay away from her and continue working on her weapons. But that would go against her plans to befriend her. At the same time, if she annoyed Weiss, the girl would just blow up at her again, and it seemed like _anything_ Ruby did would annoy her. Looking back at Weiss showed that, she too, was deep in thought. The sound of Ozpin clearing his throat dragged Ruby from her thoughts.

"Is something the matter, Ms. Rose?" Ozpin asked kindly.

embarrassed, cheeks turning red, Ruby looked down in shame. "Y-yes sir..."

"Very well. Now, if everyone is in understanding, Blake and Yang may go prepare for their first assignment. I wish you both the best of luck." Ozpin said.

"As do I!" Port said with a large smile on his face. Oobleck had apparently already left without anyone noticing his departure. With the meeting over with, everyone evacuated the meeting room. Blake, Yang and Ruby made their way back to their rooms, while Weiss went toward the training yard.

While Blake and Yang packed everything they needed, Ruby was trying to discuss her worries about Weiss with her blonde older sister. Blake decided to stay out of it for the time being, understanding it be best to leave it to family. "I'm serious Yang! I don't know what to do! I can't avoid her until you guys get back!" Ruby whined.

Yang chuckled lightly. "You could always try _talking_ to her."

"But I have no idea what to say!" Ruby whined again. Blake smiled listening to this conversation. Ruby really was an innocent, childish girl. She had to agree with Weiss to a small amount. It really _was_ kind of obscure that this girl was a bounty hunter. "I want her to be my friend, but anything I say or do just makes things worse with her...I _just_ got her to accept me as a teammate, and I don't want to wind up back at the bottom.."

Yang, having finished backing, slung her bag over her shoulder and approached the younger girl. To her displeasure, Yang ruffled her hair. "Trust me Ruby. You'll be fine. Even if she _doesn't_ come around, you're probably dodging a bullet on the Ice Princess."

"Your not exactly _helping_ sis."

Now, Blake decided to chime in. "She's just joking Ruby. Like I said, she'll come around eventually. It just takes time."

Yang smiled and nodded, giving Ruby a hug before leaving the room with Blake. Ruby smiled for a moment before adorning her worried expression once more. She walked over to her bed and sat on the edge, staring at the wall. A silent moment passed before the door opened and Weiss walked inside. Weiss looked around the room before moving her gaze to Ruby.

"I take it the other two departed already?" she asked. Ruby only nodded. Weiss walked over to their shared bunk bed and knelt down, pulling out a smaller case of dust. She than approached a large bag at the edge of the bed, picking it up and chucking it next to Ruby, earning a questioning look. "Were going to the training grounds. If were going to be teammates, you're going to have to train harder." Weiss told her.

Ruby unzipped her bag and looked through it. Weiss had packed all of Ruby's building materials, including the scythe weapon she had seen her creating just a few days ago. Ruby looked back at the girl, who refused to look back. Smiling, Ruby leapt off the bed, throwing the bag over her shoulders. Weiss looked at her through the corner of her eye and smiled slightly. She still wasn't the happiest about her current situation, being on a team with the others. However, she may as well make the best of it. After all, perhaps in the future, she may grow to enjoy it.

* * *

**So I apologize for the short chapter, however, with the previous portion, I TECHNICALLY still met my promised 2000+ words. Not to mention, being sick means I can't stop coughing and each cough further hurts my throat and breaks my concentration. These two chapters were a pain to type, but I didn't want to leave everyone without an on time update. So, until next time!**


End file.
